Changeable sign.



G. P. FLACHAIRE. GHANGEABLB SIGN.

APPLIOATION FILED 0(!T.18I 1910.

1,033,239. Patented July 23,1912.

Fig. 7.

MJM QW CHARLES PAUL FLACHAIRE, OF PARIS, FRANCE.

CHANGEABLE SIGN.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 23, 1912.

Application filed October 18, 1910. Serial No. 587,649.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES PAUL FLA- ormmn, a citizen of the FrenchRepublic, residing at Paris, France, 13 Rue de Picpus, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Changeable Signs, of which thefollowing is a specification.

The present invention relates to means for utilizing the propertypossessed by the double iodid of mercury and silver whereby it turnsfrom a yellow color to a red color under the action of heat and back toa yellow color when it is cooled. According to the present inventionthis peculiar property of the double iodid of mercury and silver is madeuse of for advertising purposes and I accordingly have embodied theinvention in a device for this purpose, which is capable of employingnot only the said double iodid of mercury and silver, but also otherchemicals which are capable of changing their colors when thetemperatures are raised or lowered.

The iodid of mercury and silver is yellow at the ordinary temperatureand turns to a red color under the influence of heat when a temperatureof about 45 C. is reached; the substance returns to its original yellowcolor when allowed to cool, however. The material ought not to be toohighly heated, because then a chemical decomposition results.

The double iodid of mercury and silver may be prepared according to thegeneral method employed for the preparation of double iodids; or it maybe prepared by treating a mercurial salt in excess with iodid ofpotassium and nitrate of silver, whereby a yellow orange precipitate isobtained. This is collected and washed with water containing a smallquantity of mercurial salt.

As before pointed out, according to the present invent-ion the turningproperties of this substance may be applied to advertising, but it mayalso be applied to pictures, cards and the like, where novel effects aredesired, such as would result in the article to which the compound hasbeen applied being subjected to the action of heat or cold.

The particular embodiment of the present invention consists in applyingthe double iodid of mercury and silver to a screen, sheet of glass,fabric, sheet of paper, or the like, so that the material will eitherform letters or pictures for advertising matter, or the material may beemployed on such screen or the like in any desired manner in connectionwith advertising matter formed according to any of the known methods.When the iodid of mercury and silver is to be fixed on paper, glass, orany fabric, it may be caused to adhere to the substances by mixing itwith a suitable gum, honey, linseed oil, white of egg, solution ofsugar, &c., to which, if desired, suitable varnishes or drying agentsmay be added. The iodid may be mixed with inactive materials or othercolors. By juxtaposition of the iodid with yellow or other fixedcoloring materials which are not sensitive to the action of heat, theiodid of mercury and silver will change color under the influence ofheat in a manner whereby a display of greatly varied colors will beobtained. When the iodid is mixed with materials having a fixed bluecolor, on heating the general effect will be violet-red.

When, according to the present invention, the iodid of mercury andsilver is utilized to form letters or pictures for advertising purposes,the material can, for instance, be painted on a screen of any suitablematerial which screen is of a yellow color which does not change uponheating. Then when the iodid is heated, it will turn red, and on beingcooled again, will return to its yellow color, the same as that of thescreen, so that in efiect the sign will be caused to disappear andreappear at intervals.

In effecting the present invention, a screen consisting of one of thematerials above named, for instance paper, textile fabric, or glass, isconstructed and placed in a position where it is desired to displayadvertising matter. The heat sensitive iodid of mer cury and silver isafiixed to the screen in such a manner as to form letters or pictures ofadvertising matter, or it may be so applied to form any desired design.Back of the screen to which the iodid has been applied, a heating deviceof any suitable form may be disposed for the purpose of intermittentlyheating the screen at the points where the iodid appears, or for heatingthe entire screen. An electric resistance heater is most convenient forpractical use.

The use of a cooling device is not absolutely necessary, as the coolingmay result from the ordinary cooling of the material 110 to thetemperature of the atmosphere, and if the atmosphere is sufl'icientlycool, the

cooling can be rapidly effected. Then how-' ever it is desired to causethe changes in the color of the material to take place in quicksuccession, it is preferable to employ some special cooling device, sothat the cooling can be more rapidly etl'ected. In practice, itdesirable that the material forming the screen to which the iodid hasbeen applied for advertising purposes be as thin as possible, becausethen the changing of the color of the material will be more rapidlyeffected.

The cooling is preferably effected by means of one or more fans whichremain at rest while the material is being heated, and can be startedinto operation at the in stant at which it is desired to cool thematerial.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown two structural embodiments ofthe invention as applied to advertising purposes.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 represents a diagrammatical viewof one arrangement of apparatus, and Fig. 9. represents a diagrammaticalview of another form of construction.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, a designates the screen consisting ofone of the materials above mentioned or any suitable material, to whichthe iodid of mercury and silver is applied. in the manner abovedescribed. The letter 6 represents a heating means, which in the presentexample consists of an electric resistance, arranged at a small distancebehind the screen a, current entering the said electric resistance at 0.Arranged at a suitable distance behind screen a is a fan (Z for coolingthe screen to a temperature at which the double iodid will reassume itsyellow color. The fan cl should be behind resistance 7), the fan in thisembodiment of the invention being stationary. A belt 0 having one endattached to the electric resistance Z) passes over pulleys and g and hasits other end attached to a gear wheel 6 at the point 7'. Wheel 5 mesheswith a wheel h to which motive power is applied, the wheel i having adiameter about equal to the height of the screen a. The wheels i and 71,and pulleys f and 9 may have any suitable position with reference to thescreen a, but preferably are placed behind the latter. From thearrangement described it will be easily understood that when the drivingwheel h is retated in the direction of the arrow, the wheel. 2' willrotate in the opposite direction, and the electric resistance 6,attached to the end of belt (2, will be caused to descend so that itwill be incapable of heating the screen a. The portions of the screen towhich the double iodid has been applied which had appeared of a redcolor when the electric resistance 7) was in its upper position, willthen cool so as to display a yellow color, more or less rapidly. Afterthe advertising matter has appeared in yellow colors for the length oftime desired, the electric resistance 6 is again raised so as to heatthe screen a and cause the iodid to appear red, which of course may bedone by rotating the driving wheel h in a direction opposite to that ofthe arrow. The fan (Z will be operated during the time that the electricheater is in a position below the screen so as to hasten the cooling ofthe screen and the resulting turning of the iodid to a yellow color. Aweight Z is used for holding the heating means in a vertical position,the heating means being capable of moving on two parallel guides Z, Z.

In the example of construction in F 2, both the heating means andcooling means are movable with respect to the screen. In this figure (4denotes the screen. to which the double iodid is applied, 5 is theelectric heater with its current supply wire 0, and cl is the fan forcooling the screen. In the construction shown the parts I) and d aremounted upon a wheel 2" in such a manner that they move with said wheel,the arrange ment being such that when the electric heater 6 is behindthe screen a the tan d is below the screen. Then by rotating the wheel2', after one-half a revolution, when it is desired to cool the screena, the fan will assume a position behind screen a, and the electricheater Z) will be in a position beneath the screen 61/. Thus the heatingand cooling of the screen may be intermittently effected so as to causethe advertising matter to appear yellow and red successively. As in Fig.1 hereinbefore described, a driving wheel h imparts rotation to thewheel 2" by meshing with the same.

It will be understood that the arrangement above described in connectionwith Figs. 1 and 2 is merely an example of the manner in which theinvention may be can ried into practice, as other suitable mechanicaldevices which give the same efiect, that is, which may cause thechemical substance to intermittently change its color, for advertisingpurposes, may be employed.

In connection with the apparatus above described, instead of the doubleiodid of mercury and silver, I may employ other chemicals which changetheir color under the influence of heat or cold.

I claim:

1. An advertising device comprising a display surface consisting ofsuitable material and having a chemical capable of changing its colorwhen heated applied thereto to form advertising matter, and means forintermit tently heating and cooling the display surface with itsapplied. chemical, whereby the advertising matter appears successivelyred and yellow, respectively.

2. An advertising device comprising a display surface consisting ofsuitable material and having a chemical capable of changing its colorwhen heated applied thereto to form advertising matter, means arrangedadjacent said display surface for heating the same, and means forintermittently moving said heating means toward and away from saiddisplay surface.

3. An advertising device comprising a display surface consisting of asuitable material and having a chemical capable of changing its colorwhen heated applied thereto to form advertising matter, means arrangedadjacent said display surface for heating the same, means forintermittently moving said heating means toward and away from saiddisplay surface, and a cooling device for assisting the cooling of saiddisplay surface when said heating means is removed.

4:. An advertising device comprising a display surface consisting ofsuitable material and having double iodid of mercury and silver appliedthereto to form advertising matter, means arranged adjacent said displaysurface for heating the same, means for intermittently moving saidheating means toward and away from said display surface, and a coolingdevice movable toward and away from said display surface so as to be adjacent said surface when said heating means is removed.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES PAUL FLACHAIRE.

Witnesses:

VIo'roR Pmvosr,

H. G. Goxn.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. C.

